How to Start a Courier Business

Setting up a courier business is a fairly easy way to make some good money. With the rise of online shopping, the demand for couriers is always rising and you won’t be short of work, especially during busy period like Christmas. The start-up costs can be quite high but if you start out small, you can avoid that. If you are interested in starting your own courier company, here are few tips to help you out.

Make a Business Plan

You need to decide on what kind of deliveries you are going to do. Do some market research and see what other companies are operating in your area, that way you can identify gaps in the market that you can fill. Your business plan should also include your financing options. If you are starting out small with one or two vehicles, then you might be able to fund it yourself. If you are going to operate a big fleet from the outset then you might need to find outside investors to help you fund it.

Make an Office

You’ll need somewhere that you can operate the business from. Organizing orders and schedules for drivers is very important. If you have a smaller operation, you could work from a home office, but if you are planning on using a large fleet, the volume of admin that needs to be done will likely be too much for a home office. When finding an office to rent, make sure it is as cheap as possible, to keep costs down while you establish yourself.

Get Vehicles

Once you have decided how you are going to fund your new business and have a clear plan about how you are going to fit into the market, you need to get some vehicles. The type of vehicles that you get is going to be dependent on what kind of deliveries you are doing. You also need to decide whether you are going to lease the vehicles or buy them outright. Always choose vehicles that are fuel efficient as this will keep your running costs down. Make sure that you have a mechanic service the vehicles before you agree to buy them, to ensure you aren’t buying something that will break down after a few months.

Insurance

The next step is to decide what insurance you are going to get. If you have three or more motor vehicles within your business, or even 500+ cars, vans, LGVs, HGVs, then fleet insurance is for you. Insuring them all under one flexible policy will mean that any of your drivers can drive any vehicle at any time. Plus, one single policy with one renewal date is much easier to administer and you can benefit from discounts on having multiple vehicles insured. Visit Bluedrop Services to get fleet insurance.

Start Advertising

Once you have set everything up, you are ready to start looking for some jobs. You can use traditional methods like posting adverts or handing out flyers but your best resource in the early stages is social media. Try to contact small online shops and offer them quotes. At this stage you are not going to win the business of huge companies so don’t waste time going after them. If you are struggling to find any work, visit https://www.deliveryquotecompare.com/courier-jobs/ to find available jobs in your area.